A Poem for You
by Wordsmith8
Summary: It's Valentine's Day and Ciel is having trouble finding an appropriate gift for his intended. Employing the help of Sebastian, a poem is written, but is it truly for Elizabeth? Sebaciel


"My lord I don't mean to pry, but is there something wrong?"

Ciel's eye flicked up from the paper he'd been reading to meet the gaze of his butler.

"No."

His answer resonated slightly in the spacious office, shattering the silence and making Sebastian's lips twitch with mirth. Picking up the ornate tea pot from the cart he'd rolled in only moments ago, he poured a second cup of tea for his obviously disgruntled master.

"I see, my mistake. Do you require anything else before Lady Elizabeth's arrival? She mentioned she'd be coming soon to celebrate Valentine's Day here at the manor."

Ciel visibly flinched at the mention of his intended's name and the dreaded holiday. He answered with an abrupt shake of his head, a slight crease forming in his brow.

"Very well then young master, I shall begin preparations."

The butler in black turned to leave, but was hardly surprised when the voice of his contractor called him back.

"Wait."

The one word made Sebastian pause, a gracious smile spreading across his face as he swiveled on his heels to face Ciel once more.

"My lord?"

The teen's watchful eye was determinedly fixed on his butler despite the light pink blush that coloured his cheeks. Placing the paper he had been reading on the large oak desk before him, Ciel clasped his hands delicately in his lap and raised his head.

"As you have already said, Elizabeth is on her way at this very moment, no doubt expecting that upon her arrival I will present her with a Valentine's gift."

He paused then to adjust his cuffs slightly, however it was clear to Sebastian that this gesture was a laughable attempt at preserving what dignity the boy could maintain. Having finished fiddling with the already perfectly-positioned cuffs, Ciel continued.

"I have made several attempts at creating a thoughtful gift, however have been unsuccessful in producing one that will please Elizabeth."

Ever the perfect butler, Sebastian approached the desk anticipating his master's wishes.

"Young master, are you perhaps requesting my aid in presenting Elizabeth with a gift for Valentine's Day?"

He did not receive a direct response, however it was clear what needed to be done.

"Well, may I see what you have created so far?"

Ciel reached out to the paper he had placed on the desk, twisting it around so that Sebastian could read it.

 _Roses are red,_

 _Violets are blue,_

 _Happy Valentine's Day_

 _From me to you_

Sebastian coughed lightly to conceal his laughter, which promptly earned him a glare from the boy seated before him.

"I believe I've made it clear in the past that I am no poet, nor am I sentimental in any way. By my standards, this isn't horrible."

His butler smiled.

"Perhaps it is acceptable by your standards, although I highly doubt that it is passable by the standards of Lady Elizabeth."

The boy scowled, snatching the paper from his butler and crumpling it in his palm. Ciel then sat back in his seat and crossed his arms neatly over his chest.

"Then perhaps you should do your job and help me instead of snickering behind your hand like a child."

Sebastian smiled, bowing before his little lord. Elegant glove-clad fingers reached for a quill pen and a fresh sheet of paper and dipping the nib of the utensil in the ink well, began to write.

For a few moments, the only sound in the room was the scratch of the quill on paper. The noise would occasionally stop and Ciel would look up to see the face of his butler focused intently on the desk, the cogs in his mind almost audibly whirring as he searched for eloquent words and phrases befitting of a love poem.

Despite himself, the boy found that watching his servant at work was fascinating.

The way the words seemed to flow from the quill like water without a single hesitation, not a drop of ink spilled nor smudged on the page, slanted writing looping in almost artful swirls from left to right. Ciel's uncovered eye then traveled from his butler's hands to his face, resting on the dark lashes that hid deep vermilion irises.

To his chagrin, Ciel had been finding that much of his day was consumed with watching those eyes.

The way they'd flash with anger when agitated, glitter with amusement, smolder when interested, and if one was lucky enough to catch the butler tending to his master, glint with the slightest touch of tenderness.

On occasion, Sebastian would catch him looking and shoot Ciel a sly grin, which would cause the teen to blush uncontrollably until his butler left the room. These incidences seemed to be happening more and more frequently, each causing butterflies to erupt unbidden in the boy's chest.

It was safe to say that Ciel was frustrated by these occurrences.

Sebastian suddenly raised his head to see his master's stare fixed on him as it so often was. With a knowing smile, he turned the page back around to face the boy so that he could read it.

 _What if all we have ever wanted_

 _isn't hiding in some_

 _secret and faraway dream_

 _but inside of us now_

 _as we breathe one another_

 _and find home in the way_

 _our arms always seem to fit_

 _perfectly around the spaces_

 _between us?_

 _what if all this time_

 _it was us you were supposed_

 _to find?_

 _I am filled with wonderings_

 _questions and doubt_

 _but of one thing I am certain:_

 _It will always be you_

 _that gives flight to the_

 _butterflies inside me,_

 _calm to the sea I have become_

 _and hope to the darkness_

 _all around us._

 _it is you and it has always_

 _been you…_

 _you._

 _You that soothes and excites_

 _and spreads joy like rainfall_

 _on the already damp earth;_

 _You that pulled me from the longest_

 _sleep and kissed my tired eyelids_

 _awake._

 _If life is a question mark,_

 _then you, my love,_

 _are the proud and bold period_

 _that is typed with certainty._

The silence that stretched on after Ciel finished reading the poem and had set the page down on the desk, was deafening.

Albeit his best efforts, Ciel could not help but imagine the words of the poem being spoken in the warm tones of his butler's voice, and to his shame, found that attempting to read it in any other fashion would take away from the beauty of the piece. As for the poem itself…

Well, it was wonderful.

Everything Sebastian did was completed with the utmost decorum and accuracy, no matter the level of difficulty. It wasn't surprising that writing poetry was no exception. The words and structure were perfect, every line conveying exactly the emotions Ciel himself was unable to communicate and the care with which it was created being almost sincere.

 _Almost…_

"My lord, is the poem to your liking?"

His butler's question startled the teen from his thoughts, causing yet another blush to creep onto his cheeks.

"Yes, I believe Elizabeth will enjoy it. You are dismissed."

Sebastian bowed and taking the cart with him, left the office.

...

"Oh Ciel! This is gorgeous, thank you so much!"

The high-pitched squeal of Ciel's fiancé pierced his ears with surprising fierceness, rendering him deaf for a heartbeat.

"I am glad you like it."

His smooth reply sent the girl into another fit of smiles as she clutched the poem tightly to her chest. Ciel smiled as well, catching Sebastian's gaze as his butler leaned over to pour the pair more tea.

Vermilion eyes locked with Cerulean ones, causing the teen's shoulders stiffen and the strange feeling to explode in his chest. A small smile meant only for his master spread across Sebastian's face as he retreated from the table before resuming his post beside the tea cart.

"Ciel, are you alright? You seem distracted."

His attention was brought back to Elizabeth, who was staring at him from across the table.

"I'm fine, sorry."

The girl grinned, still holding the poem as she launched into a story about a friend of hers, Ciel nodding along as she rambled. Had the boy glanced at his butler however, he would have seen the demon's smoldering gaze fixed on him.

...

Ciel sighed contentedly as Elizabeth's carriage jostled away from the estate, her gold pigtails swaying in the night air as she waved from the window. He and Sebastian stood side by side as the clip clop of the carriage horses grew fainter with every passing moment.

"Let's go inside, I'm tired."

Sebastian nodded and followed his master as he strode towards the door.

The pair walked up the stairs slowly, Ciel slightly in front of his butler as was customary. The boy made for his room and upon hearing the door close behind Sebastian, collapsed on his bed. To say that being in Elizabeth's presence was exhausting was a grave understatement.

He heard a faint chuckle and the footsteps of his servant approaching the bed.

"My lord, allow me to dress you for bed. You seem quite tired."

Ciel sat up with a groan, permitting his butler to unbutton his coat.

Silence reigned for a moment before Sebastian spoke.

"My lord, I understand that it is not my place to question your judgement, however I must ask; why did you keep the poem I wrote?"

Ciel froze.

He had hoped that the demon wouldn't notice, that the incident would slide under the rug without a fuss.

It was an unwelcome surprise to be wrong.

He wracked his mind for a reasonable answer, anything that would allow him to save face, but no excuse seemed plausible for deliberately withholding the poem. He had planned to give it to Elizabeth, but something about the way it had been written made that simple gesture impossible.

"I..."

The words that would describe the truth behind his actions hovered menacingly behind pinched lips. The way that poem had made him feel, regardless of the fact that the sentiment behind each stanza was almost certainly fake, and though the words weren't intended for him, _hope_ had risen in his chest, that perhaps by some stroke of fortune, the demon-butler that now knelt before him reciprocated his feelings.

Of course, it was a foolish thing to think. Still, Ciel hadn't been able to hand over the poem to his intended, preferring to hold on to that fragile hope thrown to him by the very object of his affection.

The now blushing boy turned his face away from his butler's, attempting to hide his shame.

"Young master..."

Raising a gloved hand to his master's cheek, Sebastian leaned in close to the boy's ear and speaking in hushed tones, whispered;

 _"It has always been you."_

 **A/N: Decided to write this little bit in the spirit of Valentine's Day (because, why not). I'd just like to say that the poem Sebastian writes is from a collection of poems by Tyler Knott Gregson called 'Chasers of the light' IT IS IN NO WAY MINE (I'm a mediocre poet at best, see exhibit A, the poem Ciel writes in this fic :p) While I'm at it, Black Butler is also NOT MINE. Anyway, thanks for reading!**

 **Wordsmith8**


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